Potentially hundreds or thousands of bodies were revealed to William as the warehouse door opened.
Inside, the air was heavy and quiet, broken only by soft footsteps and muffled sobs.
Groups of soldiers stood beside the bodies. Some prayed, others saluted with trembling hands. A few cried openly.
One soldier fell to his knees, hugging the sheet over a friend. Another stood frozen, fists clenched, trying not to scream.
Others just stood in silence—no words, no tears—only the hollow look of loss.
William had prepared himself, but still looked away, biting his lip and clenching his fists.
The scene brought back memories—painful ones.
"As you can see," Nova said in a flat tone, "everyone here is just a kid, like you. Probably experiencing their first death of a close friend."
"For the older ones? They're likely getting drunk or blowing off steam at the training ground."
William looked down, then asked quietly, "I heard that more soldiers are getting poisoned by the Toxcarver?"
"Yes," Nova said. "That's even sadder. Want to see them?"
"No... I've seen enough."
William turned and walked away.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Nova called, hurrying after him.
"…"
"Aww~ did I make you sad? I'm sorry~ Don't be mad, okay?"
She made a pleading face, clearly not taking it seriously.
William gave her a blank look, said nothing, and kept walking.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop teasing you. So... where are you going?"
"…"
"I am pretty capable, you know. I could help you out."
"…"
"Having second thoughts about joining the frontlines? I can help you transfer back, maybe even send you home."
Finally, William stopped.
"I'm going to train."
"What?! After seeing all that? Kid, this isn't a simulation. Real people are dying out there."
"I know. I've already been deployed once."
"And you still want to fight?"
"I told you. I have my reasons."
They stared at each other for a moment.
Then Nova sighed. "Fine. If that's what you want, I won't stop you."
William walked off, and this time Nova didn't follow.
She watched him go, her bright, playful smile fading into something more distant.
Alone again, William tapped his bracelet and searched for the nearest training area.
Unlike Gorgon City, this camp didn't have fancy facilities—just a sparring ground and a shooting range.
But that was enough.
He headed toward the shooting range, map in hand.
This area wasn't deserted. Multiple soldiers trained here.
At the counter, an old man looked up. "Name and weapon?"
"William Stromholde. I'm a support mage. I've never used a gun before."
"Stromholde, huh? That noble family?"
William hesitated, then nodded.
The old man grunted. "Hmph. Never used a gun? Then I suggest a handgun for defense, or a compact submachine gun if you want more punch."
"Actually... I want something with real firepower," William said.
"Something that can punch a hole through a tank-type Mountain-Eater."
The old man just stared at William's skinny frame.
He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but gave up. "...Sure."
He sighed and pulled out a large rifle like Cain's.
"This is an armor-piercing rifle. Standard issue for gunners."
He handed it to William. "A fair warning, if you get hurt, it's your problem. This camp isn't responsible. Got it?"
"Yes."
"Good. Here's the gun. Use your own mana as ammo."
"Thank you."
At the range, William entered a small booth and stood in front of an empty lane with no targets.
He put on special glasses, and suddenly, multiple targets appeared in his vision.
He raised the gun to his shoulder, took a breath, aimed, and fired.
The recoil slammed into his shoulder. Pain shot down his arm.
"Guh..."
He gritted his teeth, steadied his breathing, and fired again.
Each shot rocked the booth. Each one hurt.
After just six rounds, William was gasping, his shoulder aching.
"How... how the hell does Cain rapid fire this thing...?"
***
Inside Gorgon City—
In an egg-shaped building, officials from various departments sat around a large meeting room, urgently discussing a matter of great importance.
"In my opinion," one man said firmly, "we should dig up the entire Eclipse Orchid and bring it back for research."
"That way, we can study how it grows and produces poison. Just taking samples won't give us the full picture."
"That's too dangerous," someone argued back.
"We're deep in enemy territory. If the Mountain-Eaters call for reinforcements, do you know how many soldiers we'd lose?"
"I understand the risks," the first man replied.
"But this is a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. A plant that creates such a complex poison? If we can understand it, we might make huge advances in medicine—maybe save millions of lives in the future."
"Do you hear yourself?" the other person snapped.
"You're willing to risk hundreds—maybe thousands—of lives for a small chance at a future breakthrough? What if it doesn't even work?"
The voices rose louder, the tension in the room growing thicker. Two men stood at the center of the argument.
One wore a doctor's coat, his eyes sunken and dark, as if he hadn't slept in days.
The other was in full military uniform, his white hair slicked back, and polished medals neatly pinned to his chest.
They were Dr. Henry, the lead scientist working on a cure for the Toxcarver's poison, and Major General Isaac, commander of the monster-hunting unit. He was in charge of this entire expedition.
The other officials sat quietly, listening as the two men argued, weighing the points from both sides.
"General Isaac," Dr. Henry said, trying to stay calm, "I understand the risk. But even if this doesn't lead to a cure overnight, it will still push biological research forward. Progress like this takes years—but every step counts."
"Think about the past," he added.
"When scientists discovered limb regeneration, didn't that change our army overnight? Soldiers we thought were crippled came back stronger than ever. Morale doubled. We could bring the same hope again."
General Isaac shook his head. "We can get that same progress just by collecting samples. We don't need to waste lives by digging up the entire plant."
As the two continued arguing, a deep voice echoed through the room.
"That's enough."
The voice was calm but full of authority. The room went still.
Everyone turned to the holographic figure sitting at the end of the round table, watching over them.
He didn't speak right away—he just let the silence hang for a few long seconds.
"What Dr. Henry said is true," the man said. "The Eclipse Orchid is rare. Most people never see one in their lives."
"But I was lucky. I saw one once."
"It was amazing—but I remember clearly, the Eclipse Orchid I saw didn't have any poison."
"That's why I think it's worth the effort to uproot this version of the Eclipse Orchid and study it in full."
He turned to General Isaac. "Still, I understand your concern. Lives are valuable. We can't waste them."
"So here's what we'll do. The main threat from the Mountain-Eaters is their tunneling. I'll send a high-mage to block their movement underground. Once that's handled, you can take care of the rest, right, Isaac?"
"No problem, sir," Isaac replied with a respectful bow. "I can handle the operation from here."
"Then it's settled," the holographic figure said. "General Isaac, you'll lead the mission. Dr. Henry, you and your team will work closely with Isaac's unit to extract the plant."
"I'll send the high-mage shortly. The rest of the planning—tactics, logistics, deployment—I'll leave to you."
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
After giving a few instructions, the holographic figure flickered once—then vanished.
Everyone around the table gave a slight bow from their seats, aware of the heavy responsibility before them.